


The Way I Hoped It To Be

by sumerdazzee



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24857959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumerdazzee/pseuds/sumerdazzee
Summary: This is a story I had with Jason and Reyna in mind as the romantic centric. I really thought that the pair had so much potential in the book, even more when Piper and Jason broke up but alas things went south after that.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 20
Kudos: 12





	1. Argo II

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t hate on any of the other characters but I do love me some Jason and Reyna.

I. love forgets 

When the Argo II docks on Camp Jupiter, Reyna finds Percy gripping his gladius nervously while they wait for the people on the ship to go down. Percy notices Reyna’s equally tense stance and attempts to break the silence. 

“I’m sure he didn’t forget you, Rey.”

There are conflicted knots in Reyna’s stomach before she answers him.

“I really hope he didn’t, Percy. We relied on each other the most before he disappeared and I trust him with my life.”

Percy knew that trust was hard to come by when it came to her and that is how he knew that Jason was more than just a co-praetor to Reyna. He stilled himself, lost in his thoughts whether or not Annabeth still felt the same way about him. It was nerve wrecking and he prayed to the gods “Please, I hope Annabeth hasn’t changed her mind in the months that I’ve been gone.” He also prayed that this Jason guy remembered Reyna. She was a great leader but at times he saw past through her tough exterior, sometimes she would have a faraway look with a longing expression and he guessed this was whenever she thought of Jason.

The figures from the ship start approaching them. All Romans are prepared in battle stances just in case these people were trouble for the camp. A blonde blur is running towards them and Percy runs towards this girl at the same speed. They meet halfway and kiss but not before this girl judo flips Percy. All Romans tense and prepare to attack but Reyna commands them to halt. She guessed that this girl was the Annabeth that Percy kept on talking about, she looks at the two of them in their own little world reuniting. 

Finally finding the courage to look at the rest of the figures approaching her, she looks for a blonde head with electric blue eyes. Reyna zeroes in on a head she knows far too well and a smile creeps up on her face but that quickly turns into a frown when she finds Jason holding the hand of a pretty girl next to him. Her heart constricts painfully because this just confirmed her worst fears over the past few months he’s been gone. Jason forgot about them and it hurt even more for her because they just started dating for a month before he disappeared. 

When Jason sets his eyes on her he has a thoughtful look as if he just remembered who she was then it was replaced with a conflicted expression on his face. Flashes of a few memories came when he saw that girl with a black side braid and as much as he tried to grasp onto these memories, they were fleeting fast. In that moment, Jason knew that this beautiful girl with an aura of power and had two metal dogs beside her was an important part of his life here in Camp Jupiter. It suddenly felt wrong to hold onto Piper’s hand so he lets go of her hand as if it burned him then he takes one look at Reyna’s steely gaze and concludes that he just fucked up big time. 

Gwen, Dakota and Bobby notice the exchange between their two friends and they grow concerned for Reyna. They have been reassuring her these past few months that nothing was gonna change when he finally came back but here he was holding hands with a different girl. All of them knew full well that this shattered Reyna’s heart into pieces. All their gazes turned cold when Jason gave them a tight smile. 

Although Reyna felt like she wanted to puke because of what she just saw, she knew that like she’s done for the past few months, she had to push through and be strong for the camp despite feeling heart broken. So she puts her praetor mask on and clears her throat. 

This quickly catches Percy’s attention and he quickly pulls on Annabeth’s hand towards Reyna. He lets go of Annabeth and takes his place next to Reyna along with the Romans. This creates a painful tug in Annabeth’s heart but she understood the circumstances and his loyalty so she lets it go. She looks at the girl next to Percy and becomes wary of this intimading girl who had two metal dogs beside her. She was beautiful but she exuded power in her aura. Who was she? And who was she to Percy? 

Jason looks uncomfortably at the tan boy next to Reyna. He could only guess that this boy was Percy Jackson (the boyfriend that Annabeth kept on looking for) and it kind of hurt his pride that he so easily became praetor. Someone had taken his spot while he was gone and he knew he shouldn’t have been bitter but he was a bit. 

Reyna looks at Percy, to silently ask if he was done already. He gives her an apologetic look and nods. Reyna clears her throat and regards their visitors. 

“Welcome to Camp Jupiter. I think it would only be right for introductions to be the first set of order.”

Leo stares at the girl with a purple cape. He’s met his fair share of beautiful women but this girl will definitely be at the top of his list. There was something enchantingly beautiful about her and he wonders if it was witchcraft. She also exuded power and confidence which attracted Leo even more. 

Piper shifts uncomfortably next to Jason. He let go of her hand and she tries to ignore the sting on her chest. She thinks that it must have been the nerves about being back home and having no clear memories of the place. She looks at Jason staring at a girl who has a single side braid and thinks that this must be their leader. Jason has mentioned her name once and he referred to her as a girl back home. She assumed that the said girl was just a friend and she was pretty convinced that no girl could match up to her Aphrodite blessed looks. How wrong was she to think that way? This girl standing before her was incredibly beautiful. She had scars all over her tan body but she wore them like medals with her head held high, she looked like a queen she thought. For the first time, Piper prayed to her mother and hoped that her relationship with Jason was meant to be. They were blessed by the Gods, right? 

While Reyna glanced at their visitors and seized them up. She noticed that the blonde haired girl that she knew was Percy’s girlfriend had an uneasy look while she glanced between her and Percy. Reyna sighed and figured she would have to deal with that when the time comes, she knew how much it hurt to think that there was someone else and she felt like she owed it to the girl to clarify things. She then noticed the pretty girl next to Jason seize her up and Reyna immediately straightened up, she would not show any weakness. Then there was a Mexican looking boy that was staring at her oddly, was that adoration she saw in his face, she thinks to herself that she doesn’t even want to know. 

“I am Reyna, Daughter of Bellona, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.”

Percy then automatically straightens himself out and steps forward. He smiles lovingly at Annabeth before looking at her companions. 

“Percy, Son of Poseidon and since I’ve been here Son of Neptune now too, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.”

He shoots Jason an apologetic glance and Jason grimaces in turn. 

A cinnamon brown haired girl steps forward.

“Hazel, Daughter of Pluto, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort.”

An asian looking boy steps in next to Hazel.

“Frank, Son of Mars, Legacy of Poseidon.”

A red haired girl comes forward. 

“Gwendolyn, Centurion Shishkebab, Senator of New Rome.”

A curly dark haired boy steps in next to Gwen. 

“Dakota, Son of Bacchus, Senator of New Rome.”

Reyna then nods at her comrades and looks expectantly at her group of visitors. She inquisitively stares at the group opposite to them and waits for someone to step in and pronounce themself as their leader. She expected Jason to be the one to do it but she guesses that he really did change because the blonde haired girl comes forward and introduces herself. Reyna slowly recognizes this girl from her time in Circe’s Island and her face hardens.

“Annabeth, Daughter of Athena.”

Annabeth seems to have recognized her as well and she guiltily looks at Reyna. Annabeth thinks that she definitely has to talk to Reyna now to at least apologize for what happened in Circe’s Island. 

The Mexican looking boy gives Reyna a wink and introduces himself immediately. 

“Leo, Son of Hephaestus. Also single and very ready to mingle.”

Leo directs his last bit directly at Reyna. Jason’s eye twitches and he clenches his fist, he reminds himself Leo is his bestfriend. Reyna is amused but appears unbothered and uninterested at what he said. Jason finally steps forward to break the weird atmosphere Leo created and he introduces himself back home. He looks at Gwen, Dakota and Bobby and gives them a smile then he looks directly into Reyna’s eyes.

“Jason, Son of Jupiter, Former Centurion of the Fifth Cohort and Former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.”

Reyna is unfazed by what Jason says and figures that at least he remembers bits from his past life here. It could have gone worse she thought. She doesn’t back down from his gaze and just stares at Jason with a stoic face. 

Piper sensing the tension in the air, clears her throat and places a hand on Jason’s shoulder. 

“Piper, Daughter of Aphrodite. I’m Jason’s girlfriend and it’s pleasant to meet you all.”

Reyna is the first to break her staring contest with Jason and she proceeds forth with what needs to be discussed. 

“Okay now that introductions have been settled, I think it’s best for us to head to the senate house to discuss how things are going to go.”

A scrawny blonde haired boy comes into view with a scowl on his face. 

“How dare you let greacus into our camp Reyna! What sorcery has this Percy Jackson done to your head?!”

Jason glares at Octavian fully remembering this annoying boy. Dakota, Gwen, Bobby, Frank and Hazel protectively step in to defend Reyna. A force of habit makes Jason step in to defend Reyna but Percy beats him to it. 

“Stop it, Octavian. You can’t talk to Reyna like that and have you forgotten who your praetor is!”

Jason clenches his fist because for some weird reason this Percy guy was annoying him, just how close are he and Reyna? It took him years for Reyna to trust him, how could this guy swoop in and break down her walls. 

Annabeth felt uncomfortable, although she knew that Percy was only doing the right thing. It made her jealous when Percy swooped in fast to defend Reyna. Who was this girl exactly to him? The months they’ve spent apart have only made her insecure and hopefully he hasn’t changed his feelings. He couldn’t have, could he?

Reyna sighed at the tense atmosphere. Percy had been an incredible friend to her and the Romans. While she tried pushing him away during his stay in Camp Jupiter, he only insisted more on being her friend. He was a loyal friend and as much as that was nice, it was ticking Reyna off today. She saw Annabeth’s pained face and the last thing she wanted was to be included in yet another love triangle. So she stepped next to Percy and gave him a curt nod to tell him that she can handle it. 

“Octavian, can you please just drop it. We have visitors right now.”

Octavian glares at her and pushes on.

“They are greacus, Reyna. They are our enemies. Are you endangering the camp?!”

Reyna rolls her eyes at him.

“Of course not, Octavian. For the sake of our camp, we discuss this like civilized people in the Senate House. We don’t want any romans getting injured today.”

“If anything bad happens while the greacus are in our camp, it’ll be your head we’d be chewing off.”

“They brought us back our Saving Grace. The least we could do is hear out what they have to say. Does anybody object with what I said?!”

All the romans stood still and regarded their leader with a nod, everyone clearly respected and trusted Reyna’s decisions. One hand came up to object though and of course it would be Octavian. 

“Okay now that the majority have no issues with it. I hope everyone goes back to what their respective cohorts were doing.”

The romans scurry off to their respective places and it amazed Leo, how such a small girl had this much power and respect over the whole camp. It only made him admire her more. 

Reyna turned to Jason and the greeks. 

“We have to go to the senate house now. We’ll be discussing what happens from here on out with the entire senate.”

Leo smiles as he approaches her which earns him a frown from Jason.

“I wouldn’t mind going anywhere with you. Ra-ra.”

Reyna looks confused for a second but she quickly brushes him off.

“Okay everyone, let’s go.”

Reyna walks ahead of them walking with Dakota, Gwen, Bobby, Hazel and Frank while her two metal dogs follow them closely. Percy stays behind with Jason and the greeks. 

Percy laughs at Leo’s poor attempt of flirting with Reyna while he wraps one arm around Annabeth’s shoulder. 

“Reyna’s a tough cookie to crack, Leo. You don’t even want to go there.”

Leo smiles up at Percy. 

“Well well, then I would have to try harder. Nice to meet you, Percy. We’ve heard so much about you from Annabeth.”

Percy smiles up at Annabeth.

“All good things, I hope?”

“Some are yes and some are complaints about all the kelp in your head for getting yourself kidnapped.”

“Oh come on wise girl, I didn’t even want to leave you.”

Annabeth rolls her eyes at Percy.

“Of course, you didn’t seaweed brain. I’m just glad you’re alive and in one piece.”

Percy looks into the camp and finds Reyna and her group disappearing into a corner. 

“Come on guys, I guess I’ll be your guide. Rey and the others are already way ahead of us.”

While they walk towards the senate house, Jason frowns and couldn’t help but think “Rey? Only her really close friends are allowed to call her that.” Annabeth on the other hand, felt curious and she couldn’t help but ask her boyfriend about it since Piper, Leo and Jason were talking behind them. 

“Rey? How is she as a person? Can we trust her?”

“Of course, we can, wise girl. She’s the leader of this camp and believe it or not in the months that Jason went missing, she was able to keep this camp up and running by herself.”

“By herself? How did she manage? Aren’t praetors in Rome supposed to come in twos?”

“Well she didn’t want to give Jason’s spot just to anyone. Trust me, I had to save this camp just so that she’d deem me worthy of taking Jason’s spot. When I got here, she was still pretty convinced that Jason would be back soon to take back his place.”

Annabeth had an epiphany. “Oh my god. Was Reyna just like her these past few months? Was Reyna waiting for Jason to come home like she was waiting for Percy?” 

“So, you and Reyna? Aren’t .... you know.”

Percy put two and two together then he burst out laughing. Some romans even turned their heads to give Percy a weird look.

“Oh god, wisegirl. No. That’s kind of impossible since I already have a very smart and beautiful girlfriend.”

“Oh, I just thought. Since you know, Jason has Piper now and I guess I was worried too.”

Percy glances behind them and finds Jason looking lost in his thoughts while Piper and Leo gossip next to him. 

“Well, I guess not everyone is as lucky as us, wise girl. I bet seeing them together earlier broke Reyna’s heart.”

Annabeth grimaces and feels relieved because it could have so easily been them as well. She wouldn’t even know what she would do if Percy forgot about her and found a different girlfriend.

“Ugh. Jason’s a good guy, you know but I guess his memories haven’t been fully back with him yet. Maybe I’ll try to talk to Reyna later and I have to apologize as well for what happened at Circe’s Island.”

“Oh, trust me. I’ve done my fair share of groveling but behind her tough exterior, she’s a really nice girl, wise girl.”

“Of course, seaweed brain.”

Percy opens the door to the senate house and they find themselves surrounded with the senate members of Camp Jupiter. Two thrones are elevated from the rest in the front and center of everything. Reyna sits on one throne while her metal dogs sit beneath her. Percy kisses Annabeth on the cheek before murmuring a quick see you later. He heads straight to the throne next to Reyna and assumes his position. 

Jason couldn’t help but feel sick to his stomach when he saw Percy and Reyna on the thrones. A few memories of him and Reyna being the ones up there, flash into his head. Piper looks up at him worriedly but he refuses to acknowledge her at the moment. 

The senate meeting goes on and after hours of deliberation and opinions, the senate finally agrees to let the greeks stay in their camp for a few days till they manage to settle the prophecy of the seven. Reyna by this time was incredibly exhausted. 

“This meeting is adjourned. We shall discuss other important matters tomorrow. Bonam noctem.”

As everyone left the senate house, it surprised her that Annabeth stayed behind and motioned for her. Reyna was tired but she was accustomed to situations like this whenever she had to tend to romans having issues within the camp. Annabeth was the first one to break the silence.

“First of all, I want to say I’m sorry.”

Reyna looks surprised but she quickly covers it up with a stoic face.

“For what?”

Annabeth takes a deep breath and apologetically looks at Reyna.

“For that time in Circe’s Island. I didn’t mean for that to happen and I was just desperate to survive then.”

Reyna hardens her expression but she figures that it’s been a few years since then and since she owned up to her mistakes like Percy, that sat well with Reyna. 

“Hey, you were younger then and I would have done the same to survive if I were in your position.”

Annabeth gives her a small smile. 

“Truce?”

Reyna gives her a tight smile.

“Truce.”

“Sooo...it’s amazing how you managed to run the camp by yourself before Percy came. He told me about it and I just wanted to thank you for keeping him out of trouble while he was here.”

Reyna laughs a bit at what Annabeth said.

“Percy does have a way of always finding himself in trouble. I think that the Gods must favor him for keeping him safe for this long.” 

Annabeth laughs and agrees with what Reyna said.

“Yeah, that he does. I just wished the Gods stopped picking him for every quest they need.”

“How were you holding up without him? Percy always mentioned you, you know, he never forgot to talk about you. I think it was his way to make sure that he didn’t forget about you.”

Annabeth softens at Reyna’s words.

“Well, I was a mess. I was so desperate to find him and it had been months since he disappeared. Then Jason popped out of nowhere and I guess, I knew that it had something to do with Percy missing.” 

Reyna’s heart contricts at the mere mention of Jason’s name. Annabeth notices Reyna’s silence and her pained face. So out of impulse, she reaches out to hold both her hands and squeezes them with her own. This girl in front of her, lead a legion while her boyfriend went missing and her boyfriend came home with a new girlfriend on his arm. Annabeth felt horrible for her and she just wanted to make sure that this girl was okay. She can kind of see herself in her eyes, it was almost as if she were her roman counterpart. 

“Reyna, I know I am in no position to pry or to talk about this with you but trust me when I say that I know exactly what you’ve been through when Jason was gone. You don’t always have to be strong. If there are things you want to talk about or to get off your chest, I can hear you out.” 

Reyna feels her mask break. For months on end, she remained strong, she run the legion on her own, she showed no weakness because she had hope that when Jason came home everything would go back to normal but now that he was back. Why did everything feel so wrong? Why did it feel like she could see Jason but her Jason, the one who has been with her since she was 12 was gone? Reyna slowly starts to feel the tears coming out of her eyes and as much as she tried to stop it, the tears didn’t stop. Was everything she did all for nothing? Her Jason wasn’t coming home and it hurt so much. 

Annabeth was suprised to see Reyna break down. This girl was really tough but she also needed someone that understood the pain she’s been through. Annabeth wraps her arms around Reyna into a hug and she attempts to soothe her by patting her softly on the back. Reyna quickly composes herself and pulls away from Annabeth, she feels ashamed for showing a sign of weakness but she also feels grateful for the comfort Annabeth gave. Ever since she saw Jason with Piper, all she wanted to do was cry but she knew she had to be strong for Camp Jupiter. 

“I’m sorry, Annabeth. I didn’t mean to breakdown on you like that. It is unacceptable behavior.”

“Reyna, you don’t have to say sorry for crying when you feel upset. People are entitled to their own emotions.” 

“But, as a Roman, I must not show any weakness. All the more if the reason for being upset is because of a boy.” 

Annabeth holds onto both of Reyna’s hands.

“It’s alright for you to express yourself once in a while, you don’t have to bottle all of these feelings up all the time.”

“I guess, so.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, I already broke down in front of you. I guess, I got nothing to lose.”

Annabeth nods at her and waits for her to go on. 

“Well..... it hurts a lot, Annabeth. It feels like he just ripped my heart out of my chest and trampled on it. Then he shows public displays of affection with his new girlfriend.”

“Annie, you can call me Annie. That’s what my close friends call me.”

Reyna smiles up at her and Annabeth returns it. 

“Well in that case, it’s Rey. You can call me Rey. That’s what my friends call me.”

“Well, Rey, I understand that it might seem that way but I doubt that Jason intentionally wanted to hurt your feelings. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met and I’m sure he didn’t mean to.”

“I know that and as much as I want to hate him for forgetting about me and for forgetting about us, I can’t hate him because I still love him.” 

Reyna tears up again and Annabeth wipes some of her tears away. 

“Oh, Rey, I think we should just give him time. I don’t think he even has a hold of all his memories yet. I guess we just have to wait.”

Reyna tugs frustratedly at the end of her side braid. 

“I have been waiting for 8 months and now I have to wait again. I don’t think that there’s anyone I have to wait for anymore. Clearly he’s made his choice by dating Piper.”

“I understand why you’re frustrated and if moving on is what will appease your heartache then I guess that it’s the best thing to do.” 

“I really hope so, Annie. I can’t keep on crying for a guy that doesn’t even remember what we had.”

“Oh god, how long were you together before he disappeared?”

“A month.” 

Annabeth completely understands Reyna because it had also just been a month since she and Percy started dating before he went missing. 

“Well I got admit. He kind of sucks for forgetting about his own girlfriend.”

Reyna swallows a lump in her throat remembering the months before they actually put a label on it. If she was gonna be honest, she was the difficult one at first refusing to place a label on their relationship because of her fear that it might get in the way of their duties as praetors. 

“Well, I don’t blame him, I kind of sucked in the romance department as well. We had been kind of a thing without a label for five months before we finally made it official a month before he disappeared.”

Annabeth’s jaw dropped. So technically, they were together for 6 months? How could Jason forget? 

“That’s no excuse, Rey. He should have at least remembered that he had someone waiting for him back home. Well he did mention you a few times but he always refused to talk about it.”

“Well, those few times must have meant nothing to him since he still got himself a new girlfriend.” 

Annabeth grimaces at this and tries to comfort her friend.

“Maybe, moving on is the best course of action. You wouldn’t want to get in the middle of any relationship even though technically it kind of was Piper that got in the middle of your relationship but both Jason and Piper weren’t aware that he and you had a thing. For now, I just think that you deserve better than this.”

“I agree with you, Annie. I think, I’ll just move on and at least Jason would be happy.”

“Oh, Rey, you deserve happiness as well. Never try to tell yourself otherwise.”

“I never thought in a million years that I would ever have a greek friend.”

“Well, we’re kind of alike in many ways. Aside from the missing amnesiac boyfriends, I also think that Bellona is quite similiar to Athena.”

“Thank you. I think I needed that talk.”

“Now you can always talk to me if you need to get some things off your chest.”

Annabeth abruptly hugs Reyna. She doesn’t usually hug people but this girl has been through so much and in a way she kind of felt guilty about how similiar things could have gone for her if Percy forgot about her. 

A loud bang of the door opening jolts them out of their thoughts. A surprised expression is on Percy Jackson’s face when he sees Annabeth and Reyna hugging each other but it quickly morphs into a smirk. 

“Well, well, what do we have here? I see someone’s made a friend.” 

Annabeth and Reyna roll their eyes at him at the same time, it had never occured to Percy how similiar Annabeth and Reyna were as a person. They were both stubborn perfectionists who were annoyingly smart. He smiles at the fact that one of his close friends in Camp Jupiter and his girlfriend are bonding.

“Oh shut it, Perce. Do you want me to hit you?”

“Wipe that smirk off your face, seaweed brain. You don’t want me to judo flip you again, do you?”

“My, my, this might be one of the most unholy friendships ever. The two of you are already ganging up on me.”

“If you stopped being annoying, Perce, then I’d be less mean.”

“Unholy friendships? Is that supposed to insult us, seaweed brain?”

Percy acts as if they delivered a hard blow to his heart while clutching onto his chest. 

“You two wound me. I was only being a kind gentleman. People were trying to figure out why one of their praetors and a greek was missing. They thought you guys were killing each other or something ....... (Percy notices Reyna’s tear strained face) what happened here?”

“Chill, Perce. Annie and I were just talking about a few praetor issues.”

Percy immediately catches on. When Reyna usually had “praetor issues”, it actually meant “Jason Grace” related issues. 

“Oh... oooh... okaaay. Well everyone is at the mess hall eating dinner. The greeks and Jason decided to eat with the Fifth cohort and I was getting lonely eating alone at the praetor table.”

Reyna turns to Annabeth.

“Would you like to eat with Perce and I at the praetor table?”

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t we break a roman policy or something?”

“Oh we will but I’m praetor and everyone follows what I say so it’ll be okay.”

“Okay then. At least I get to hang with you and this seaweed brain.”

“Thank God, Annie. I am convinced that I’ve been losing brain cells being around Perce.”

Percy pouts and butts into their conversation.

“Hey, that’s not nice, Rey. How could you say that about me after all the times we ate together there.”

Reyna sticks her tongue out at Percy.

“Pffft. I was practically obligated to sit with you since we’re co-praetors.”

Annabeth loops her arms through both of Percy and Reyna’s arms. 

“Come on now you two babies. And Percy stop being a drama queen.”

The three of them happily chatter while walking to the mess hall. When they reach the mess hall, their playful banter doesn’t stop and when they were finally seated and eating that was when they noticed everyone looking at them as if they grew three heads. 

It was quite a peculiar sight. Their usually stoic praetor was engaging in playful banter with their recently elected praetor and a greek blonde leader. Reyna was usually solemn ever since Jason went missing but they guessed that something shifted and now she seemed a bit better. 

The sight was mostly peculiar to Jason though. It was unbelievable to Jason how fast she warmed up to Percy but now she’s warmed up to Annabeth as well. What in Tartarus has been happening since he’s been gone? 

Leo cleared his throat beside Jason and said.

“Damn, Percy is pretty close to her. Why is he close to all the pretty girls? I knew Annabeth was off limits but now he has Reyna too. This is so unfair.”

Jason’s jaw clenches and he squeezes a bit too hard on Piper’s hand making her yelp. 

“Hey lightning boy. Cool it.”

Jason looks up apologetically at Piper and Leo. Gwen, Dakota and Bobby attempt to hide their grins. They knew Jason and if this was still their Jason, they were pretty sure that in a few more minutes he’ll be accidentally zapping everyone with electricity. 

Percy had his arm around Annabeth while his other hand playfully tugged at the end of Reyna’s side braid from time to time. Annabeth berates Percy for tugging on Reyna’s hair calling him a pre-schooler for it but Percy ignores it and still persists on doing it. A memory flashes into Jason’s head and he remembers that he used to be the one to do that before. Reyna gets increasingly annoyed by each tug Percy does and once she reaches her limit, with a snap of her fingers the tissue Percy was holding lights on fire. Percy yelps and pouts at Reyna and Annabeth for laughing at him. Annabeth and Reyna high five. Oh right Jason thinks, I forgot that Reyna could light things on fire with the snap of her fingers.

“What? She can do that?!”

Jason notices that he just said that out loud and Leo looks as if he just found his favorite toy from the toy store. He nervously scratches the back of his head before he answers. 

“Yeah, it was a gift from her mother. She found out the same time I found out that I could kind of fly using the wind.” 

“Oh god, I think I’m in love. Where has she been all my life?”

Gwen laughs at Leo and answers his question. 

“Running an entire legion on her own.”

Dakota accidentally spits out his drink. Bobby pats him softly on his back. Jason frowns at what Gwen said while Leo looks at Reyna dreamily. 

Jason feels as if he should have been the one sitting there at the praetor table with Reyna but he tries to brush it off because he has Piper now. He looks up at the praetor table and finds Percy wiping away some pasta sauce that got on Annabeth’s cheek then he sees Percy laughing at Reyna who looked confused. Percy moves closer to Reyna’s face and wipes some pasta sauce on the corner of her mouth. 

The people sitting from Jason’s table mutter an “ouch” because they all felt a sting of electricity hit them. This gains everyone’s attention around the mess hall. Jason mutters a quick “sorry” to everyone and then everything goes back to normal. Piper holds onto Jason’s hand and says. 

“Sparky stop zapping us with your powers, okay?”

Jason looks lost in thought and nods at her. 

Dakota, Gwen, Bobby and Hazel knew that it was bound to happen soon because of what Percy was doing. Jason has always been a jealous guy and all of them knew it. They guess some things never do change.


	2. Quest

II. love confuses 

Reyna was absolutely drained but for some weird reason, she didn’t have it in her to fall asleep peacefully aboard the Argo II. She was relieved to find everyone safe and sound on Argo II but she was also feeling nervous about the impending war against Gaea. Camp Jupiter was her home, her safe haven and she’ll be damned to Tartarus if she didn’t fight for it. Gloria Romae. 

Annabeth had tasked her to bring the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half Blood to appease both the Greeks and the Romans. With the help of Nico and Coach Hedge they were set to leave early in the morning, she was grateful for the company but she still felt like she had to have her guard up all the time. She thought of Camp Jupiter, her friends, her sister, her mother, Gaea, and her last thoughts settled on Jason. 

Thank the Gods that she didn’t have to deal with him while everything around them was in chaos. If she was going to be honest, she knew that Jason didn’t deserve the cold shoulder that she’s been giving him but in a way she felt like it was the only thing she could really do to make him feel even a sliver of what she went through for him. Over the past week, she noticed that Jason had been trying to interact with her more frequently and for every single instance that he did this she resorted to fleeing away or looking busy.

Sure she could probably slay giants and monsters bravely on her own but she just couldn’t talk to Jason Grace the same way anymore. Reyna was civil around him though, she just always had her praetor mask on around him and for some odd reason she felt like he was trying to take her mask off. It annoyed the hell out of her because after weeks of avoiding her existence and their family in Camp Jupiter, she felt like he didn’t deserve to be close to her anymore. Not when he’s clearly forgotten about her and Camp Jupiter. 

A few hours ago before everyone retired to sleep, she had a talk with Annabeth regarding the situation and her reply was only that “Jason must be remembering things and he might have been trying to be around you because I think he knows that you were a significant part of his life before. So, he might just be trying to cling onto the past. Maybe you should try talking to him again. It might help with his memories.” 

Reyna rolled her eyes when she remembered what Annabeth told her. She didn’t want to get into that just yet, maybe after the war she thought but definitely not right now. Who says she can’t avoid Jason, the same way he avoided her when he first saw her after 8 months of being gone? Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud “boo” and a soft push to her shoulder. 

She yelped and fell off the couch she was sitting on at the lounging area of the Argo II. Reyna shot daggers at her intruder as she lifted her gladius up to look even more menacing. Her eyes met with chocolate brown ones and it didn’t surprise her to find one Leo Valdez. They had gotten closer since the day they met when they brought Jason back home, the friendship surprised her and his antics always managed to make her laugh. Leo also made it a habit to follow her around and he even gave her a nickname “Ra-ra”.

“Geez, Ra-ra. You didn’t have to pull your gladius on me, I’m completely harmless.”

Reyna rolled her eyes at him while Leo smiled at her. 

“Harmless my podex. You’re practically a walking hazard, Leo.”

“Come on, you don’t mean that.”

Leo gives her his famous puppy dog eyes. 

“Haha I don’t know about that.”

Reyna settles back into the couch that she was sitting on while Leo sits next to her while holding his fuzzy blanket. 

“So, why are you still awake Ra-ra?”

“I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you still up?”

“Well, I asked first so you have to answer before I do.”

“Fine. Well, I couldn’t sleep. My head felt like it was going on overdrive with the thoughts swirling in my head.”

Leo puts a finger to his chin and assumes a thinking face. 

“Mhmm, let me guess. Does this have anything to do with your departure with Nico and Coach Hedge in the morning?”

Reyna was thankful that he thought of that instead of what she was actually thinking of before he rudely interrupted her thoughts but at least it was about 1/8 of her thoughts. 

“That’s a part of it, I guess.”

Leo sees Reyna shiver and he puts the blanket over the two of them. Reyna gives him a look but lets it go thinking he was only being a good friend. 

“Ra-ra, you got to stop worrying. I know you’ll be able to do it. With you leading the way, I’m sure that there will be peace between the Greeks and the Romans.”

Reyna smiles up at Leo’s confidence in her.

“Thanks Leo. You really could be a cheerleader.”

Leo scoffs at this.

“That ain’t the best thing to compare me to but I’ll take what I can get.”

“So, why are you up as well?”

“Well for your information, I was having a hard time sleeping as well with all of this Gaea shit around us.”

“Mhmm...I’m sure we’ll be able to make it. Saving the world, isn’t something new for demigods like us.”

“It is to me and I guess that’s why I’ve been feeling nervous about it. What if I make a mistake?”

Reyna stares into Leo’s eyes and reassures him. 

“You got to give yourself some credit sometimes. You’ve been doing great, Leo. Plus look at this ship, Argo II wouldn’t be the way it is without you.” 

Leo’s eyes soften at her. He always had a soft spot for this girl. Initially, he just had a crush on her for her looks and her aura but now that he knew her well as a friend it only intensified his crush on her. Thank the Gods that this girl was dense or else she would have probably known by now. 

“Thank you Ra-ra. You know that I’ll always have your back and if you need any more pep talk from your cheerleader when you’re having problems, I’m always an iris message away.”

Reyna had a mischievous glint in her eye before she spoke. 

“Pfffft. I already talk Annie’s ear off for things like that. And, that’s not really what I have you for. You’re actually for entertainment, Valdez.”

“I should have known that you two brainiacs bonded. Ha ha ha, and I’m not your entertainment monkey, Ra-ra.”

“Would have fooled me.”

Leo tickes her and they get into a light hearted discussion about things that aren’t related to Gaea as a way to take their mind off of things. 

———————————————————-

Jason was having a hard time falling asleep. Everything around him seemed unstable at the moment. His life, his memories, his friends, and his relationship. He was gonna admit that in the past few weeks, his relationship with Piper had been strained. It wasn’t her fault in his opinion, he thought it was mostly him. There were a lot of moments in his life that just made him confused. 

Most days, he would have brief flashes of memories in his head. And, as much as he wanted to piece together who he was before, it was getting extremely agitating for him. There were memories he couldn’t understand like ones wherein he and Reyna hold hands while walking in the field of Mars. 

His talk with Notus had him feeling a bit regretful with himself. He’s been Roman in the entirety of his life and the fact that Notus made him realize that in the past few months he’s chosen to be Greek made him feel guilty. How could he throw away so easily a big chunk of his life? He guessed that it was bound to happen due to his foggy memories. His thoughts drift off to the praetorship that he had given up to Frank. He admits that he made that decision hastily and maybe he regrets doing it because now he would have to prove himself again or ask Frank to step down from being praetor of Camp Jupiter if ever he wanted his spot again. 

Moments from the past were extremely hard to grasp for him, it was as if someone was trying really hard to lock away parts of his memories. Most of these hazy memories include Reyna, there was just something about her that drawned him in.

Initially, he was afraid of being around her because he had a hunch that there was something she wasn’t telling him. In his fear of ruining his fresh relationship with Piper, he had kept his distance from Reyna but Jason saw that he managed to hurt people along the way. He was afraid of what he was going to find out from his past. If his relationship with Piper was meant to be, they would be strong enough to overcome whatever he found out from the past right? But, the issue was that he didn’t think they were strong enough. Piper had told him that she had memories of them dating for a while but he just felt like there was something wrong. Almost as if every memory of them was too perfect, too curated. 

That is why in the past week, he chose to be brave and Jason started trying to interact with Reyna. The plan was to be around her and to talk to her which will hopefully trigger some of his memories. He was already feeling sick and tired of not knowing who he was, with this course of action he hoped to get a clearer grasp of who he is. The problem was that he had underestimated Reyna. He didn’t even try to think that maybe because he hurt her, she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him. That has been the case for the past week, he would try to approach her but she would always find a way to avoid him. This girl was avoiding him like the plague. 

Jason sighed for the fifth time. His thoughts were keeping him awake and he knew this wasn’t healthy. That’s why he decided to clear his head and have some coffee in the lounging area of the ship. 

When Jason got near the lounge, he got alarmed because he heard hushed voices and stifled laughs inside. Who could be up at this hour? It was already 2 in the morning. His curiosity got the best of him so he decided to listen in on the voices having a hushed conversation. 

“WTF. So you’re telling me that you think that Superman would win against Aquaman?”

Jason knew that voice was Leo’s. 

“Yeah. It’s so obvious. Superman can practically fly and he has heat vision.”

Jason gulped he knew that strong feminine voice, it was Reyna. Why on earth was she still awake? Didn’t she have to leave for a quest of her own in the morning? 

“Aquaman can control water. It’s so obvious that he can beat Superman’s heat vision.”

“Oh gods. No argument is gonna come through to you. You and Percy are just ganging up on me. Both of you are a bunch of Aquaman fangirls.”

“Only because he’s stronger than Superman. Percy and I agree on that. Superman has a weakness kryptonite and Lois Lane. How lame is that?”

“Har har. Whatever. You should just go back to making me laugh, you monkey.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh, don’t do what I think you’re gonna do, Valdez. I’ll kick you in the podex.”

“I would like to see you try, Ra-ra.”

Jason hears giggling and laughter coming from the both of them. He was feeling jealous and he didn’t even know why. They were just friends, right? He thinks he’s had enough and makes his presence known by stepping inside. The floor makes a loud creaking noise under his weight. 

Two heads shoot up in his direction. There on the couch he finds the two of them with their hands on each other’s midriff trying to tickle one another. His jealousy gets the best of him and he accidentally zaps them with electricity. The two of them jump apart from one another. Jason hides a pleased smile on his face. He clears his throat at them.

“What are you guys doing up so late?”

Leo smiles at his bestfriend.

“I think you mean, what are you guys doing up so early, lightning boy.” 

Reyna rolls her eyes at Leo’s attempt to joke around so she pinches him on his arm. Leo mutters an “ouch” and a quick “I’ll get you for that.” Jason grimaces at their interaction, a brief memory of him and Reyna flash. And he thinks that they used to be like that. 

“Can it, Leo. Being a smartass doesn’t look good on you.”

Leo turns to Reyna with a playful glint in his eye. 

“Oh, but when you and Annabeth do it, it’s okay?”

Reyna matches Leo’s stare.

“Our mothers are Athena and Bellona. You can’t expect any less.”

“Well my father is Hephaestus and I can be a smartass when I want to be.”

“You’re insufferable, you know that.”

Leo sticks his tongue out at her.

“You say that all the time but you still spend time with me.”

Jason sighs for the sixth time that night. The two of them just forgot he was still in the room. He didn’t like whatever it was that was developing between the two. Then he remembered he had Piper, he had no right not to like it. So, he just clears his throat again. 

“Uuuh, I think you guys should rest. Leo we have a long day tomorrow and Rey you have to leave with Nico and Coach Hedge in a few hours.”

Reyna’s eyes harden. He didn’t have the right to call her Rey anymore. 

“It’s Reyna, to you Jason. And, I think I‘m perfectly capable of going on my quest without any sleep.”

Jason and Leo winced at Reyna’s harsh tone. Jason didn’t even know why he called her Rey, it was a force of habit he didn’t know he had. Leo on the otherhand, felt incredibly awkward. He knew that the two of them have always had tension in the air. Leo wanted to leave this weird bubble fast. 

“Sorry, Reyna. It just came out and it felt like a force of habit.”

“Well, it isn’t your habit anymore, Jason. So just stop it.”

Leo carefully steps towards the exit of the lounging area before he spoke to them. He nervously scratches the back of his neck.

“Uuuuhm. I think I’m gonna leave now, you guys. I suddenly feel incredibly tired. See you in the morning, Jace. And, I’ll see you off later before you leave for your quest, Ra-ra.”

Jason and Reyna mumble a quick “bye” while Leo scurries off.

Reyna glares at Jason while he looks at her. His presence was getting annoying and she wanted nothing more than to ignore him. So, she nonchantly walks to the lounge area’s beverage machine and punches in a button to make some hot chocolate. 

Jason senses that he’s pissed her off, he fights off a smile. Wait? What? Why was he smiling? Then he remembers all those times he’s pissed her off before, how hard it was for him to break through her walls and he remembers that it took him a while before he got close to her. Jason remembers the real reason why he went there in the first place and he moves towards the beverage machine as well and then he punches in the button for coffee. 

Reyna grabs her hot chocolate from the machine and glances at Jason who pushed the button for some coffee. This involuntarily creates a deep frown on her face. Her Jason always liked hot chocolate better, he only had coffee before if they were hell bent on finishing paperwork. This only solidified the fact that this boy next to her, was no longer her Jason. 

Jason noticed the frown on Reyna’s face when he pushed in the button for coffee. The silence was killing him and this was exactly what he was trying to do for the past week, to spend some time with her so he might as well go along with it and talk to her. 

“I assume, you don’t like coffee.”

Reyna was surprised that Jason broke the silence but she decided not to show it. 

“No.”

Jason ignores her clipped reply and pushes on for a conversation.

“Coffee is nice you know. And, Piper says that coffee is good for our skin.”

Reyna grimaces at the sound of Piper’s name. Her heart feels a painful pang in her chest, so that’s who he learned to drink coffee with. She definitely did not want to talk to him about anything right now. 

“Mhm. Nice.”

Jason wanted to keep their conversation going to hopefully jog any of his memories so he continues on with the coffee talk. 

“Coffee can also help you lose weight.”

Reyna steels her eyes at him.

“Are you calling me fat?”

Jason blushes and stutters out his response.

“No, no, no. I was just spewing out random facts that I knew about coffee.”

Reyna knew that about Jason. He always liked to read trivias and facts with her before. She unconciously slips out a tiny smile at the memory.

“You were always a trivia nerd.”

Jason notices her tiny smile and thinks it’s one of the most beautiful things he’s seen. He was used to her scowling and her famous poker face but this smile is something that he liked on her. 

“Was I? It’s the first I found out about that. I don’t know a lot of things about myself right now.”

A frown returns on her face and Jason feels like he wants to turn that frown into a smile again. 

“Yeah.”

“Is there anything else you know about me? Maybe it can help with my memories, you know.”

Reyna was having an internal struggle. She was torn between shouting at him while telling him everything and just going with the flow. Obviously, she chose the latter. Romans did not let their emotions rule over them. 

“I know, a fair amount about you.”

As far as Reyna knew that wasn’t a lie. Jason knew that there was more to her words but he didn’t want her to get agitated then flee from him again. 

“It would be nice to know some of it. Mhmm, what are some of the basics?”

Reyna took a deep breath and thought to herself that she’d bite. 

“Well, your birthday is on July 1st, you were two when you got brought into the Wolf House, you joined Camp Jupiter after being trained by Lupa, you were raised in the lifestyle of the Roman legion, you were inducted into the Fifth cohort, made a centurion, met me, went on quests, won the Battle at Mount Othrys, became praetor, ............... (Jason felt like she was about to say something then quickly decided not to) then you went missing.”

Reyna got carried away, she had to admit that but this was the longest conversation she’s had with Jason since he came back. 

Jason thought that was a lot to process and Reyna seemed to know quite a lot about him. Suddenly, he started to question what they really were before he went missing. 

“Mhmm, you seem to know a lot about my life.”

Reyna felt a bit uneasy. She shouldn’t have said too much, he can’t know, she didn’t have the time for this right now. 

“Uh, yeah. We were close.”

“That was like my life’s story. What about other things about me?”

“Well, you’re nearsighted which is why you used to wear glasses or contacts.”

“Mhmm.”

Jason recently found out about that actually. He was wondering why he was always squinting, when he met Bacchus with Piper and Percy, they found out he had an eye condition. He even got called “John Green.”

“You have a mole on your left foot.”

“Oh, really. What else?”

“Your favorite treat in New Rome are brownies.”

Jason felt the side of his head ache, this usually happened before he remembered something. 

“I should have some again when all of this is over.”

“And, you used to hate coffee, the same way I did. We only had coffee when we had important praetor duties and paperwork to be finished. You loved hot chocolate. It was always hot chocolate for us.”

Jason’s head ached again and he grabbed onto a stool to steady himself. Reyna looked at him worriedly. He closed his eyes to ease the pain away. 

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in his praetor villa. He looked around and found scattered paperwork all over the place. A much more carefree looking Reyna came into view with two mugs of what looked like hot chocolate. His body was moving and speaking on its own, he was inside himself and just reliving the memory. The Reyna from the past hands over his hot chocolate while saying his name in a singsong voice. 

“Jay-Jayyy, I believe congratulatory hot chocolate is in order.”

“To what do I owe this special hot chocolate drink.”

Reyna looks up at him and scoffs as if the answer was obvious.

“We just finished all the paperwork. I think we’re great praetors.”

Jason smiles at her.

“Of course, we are. We make a great team.”

Reyna grins at him.

“Good as a team like Justice League?”

Jason makes a thinking face. 

“I was thinking we were more of a duo.”

“Haha what? Which one?”

“I was thinking you be the Wonder Woman to my Superman.”

They both take a long swig of their hot chocolate before Reyna answered.

“Mhm, that could do but that won’t make sense. Who’ll be your Lois Lane?”

Jason had a playful glint in his eye.

“Well there are arcs where in Superman ends up with Wonder Woman you know.”

“Mhmm, then I guess that’ll do just fine.”

Jason blushes as Reyna flashes him a heart melting smile. He impulsively lurches forward and kisses her. This confuses Jason from the present. He smiles into the kiss and tugs on the end of her braid when he pulls away. Reyna scowls at him.

“Hey, you don’t play fair.”

“Oh, Rey, that’s for forgetting to put marshmallows in mine and you thought I wouldn’t notice.”

Reyna tries to act surprised but she ends up grinning.

“You’re such a big baby.”

The memory abruptly fades away and he’s back in Argo II’s lounging deck. He looks up and finds a concerned looking Reyna who was holding onto his shoulders to steady him. Jason gets lost in her brown eyes and without thinking talks out loud unconsciously. 

“I was thinking you be the Wonder Woman to my Superman.”

She jumps away from him. Reyna’s eyes looked panicked. “Oh God” she thinks. She knew exactly when he told her that before, it was a few days after they’ve gone official and they were buried in paperwork. “No, no, no. She has to get away from him. She has to get away from here. She can’t ruin his perfect relationship with Piper.” 

“Bye, Jason. See you when I see you.”

Reyna runs out of the room as if her life depended on it. She goes inside her sleeping quarters in Argo II and pretends to fall asleep. Sleep wasn’t going to come easy after that but she could try. Her thoughts were to flee immediately, they were supposed to leave at around 8 in the morning after they all had breakfast with everyone. Maybe she could convince Annabeth, Percy, Nico and Coach Hedge that they needed to go earlier around 5 in the morning to make sure she didn’t have to cross paths with Jason. “Yeah, that was definitely the plan” she thought.

Jason was left stunned in the lounging area. He shouldn’t have said that and because of what he said Reyna ran away from him. This was all too much to take for him, he was still in the process of getting his life back together. Who was Reyna to him exactly? Why did he kiss her in the past? It was all confusing to him. After this encounter, he realized that if he ever wanted to move forward in his life, he would have to sew his past self in with his present self. Piper deserved better, Reyna deserved better and he just wanted to make things right. Jason would talk to Reyna in the morning, he’d get a chance to speak to her before she left for her quest. With a heavy heart and a messy head, Jason walks back to his quarters and tries to sleep. 

———————————————————

Annabeth woke up to sound of loud knocking on her door, she looked at her alarm clock on her left and found that it was 4:30 in the morning. Who would wake her up this early? She looked to her right and found Percy tightly hugging her while he drooled on her hair. If this was Annabeth 8 months ago she would have been disgusted but this Annabeth was the one who lost him 8 months ago, found him, went on the prophecy of seven with him, fell into Tartarus with her and survived. She loved her seaweed brain with or without the drooling in his sleep. 

The knocking continued and since she was awake already she might as well get up. Annabeth moved out of Percy’s grasp which woke him up instantly. He looked at her sleepily and asked her what was going on. 

“Wise girl, why are you up so early and who’s knocking?”

Annabeth moves to kiss Percy’s forehead before she got out of the bed.

“I don’t know yet seaweed brain but I’m about to find out.”

“Do you need me to get up as well?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Love you.”

“Love you. Go back to sleep.”

Percy mutters a sleepy “okay” then Annabeth opens the door. She was surprised to find a disheveled looking Reyna.

“Rey, what in the gods happened to you? Didn’t you get any sleep?”

“Uhmm, about that. We have to talk Annie. Privately, I hope. May I come in?”

Annabeth side steps and lets Reyna inside closing the door. Reyna looks around and isn’t surprised to find another body sleeping in Annabeth’s bed, she knew it was Percy without even asking. Ever since they got stuck in Tartarus together, they have been inseparable and she couldn’t really blame them. One could only wish to have a relationship like Percy and Annabeth, who would literally go to hell and back for each other. 

“Rey, what’s the matter?”

Reyna cautiously glances at Percy, she wasn’t sure if he was sleeping or not because he was facing the other way. 

“Is Percy asleep?”

Annabeth nods at Reyna.

“Yeah. I think so.”

Reyna relaxes her shoulders and looks into Annabeth’s eyes.

“I think Nico, Coach Hedge and I need to leave earlier today.”

Annabeth looks at Reyna confusedly.

“What? Why? I thought we all agreed on 8 in the morning.”

Reyna nervously looks around at anything but Annabeth’s eyes when she answers.

“Uuh. The earlier we get there, the better, I suppose. We wouldn’t want there to be a war between the Greeks and the Romans, right?”

Annabeth notices that there was something off about Reyna. 

“Rey, what aren’t you telling me?”

Reyna looks like she’s been caught red-handed. She sighs and thinks that it was just Annabeth, might as well tell her the truth. 

“So, I couldn’t sleep last night so I went to the lounge, that was where Leo found me and we talked for a bit. Then Jason came in and interrupted us, then Leo left us alone. Jason started asking me if I knew anything that could jog his memory ....”

Annabeth was getting curious so she just urged Reyna to go on.

“And, then what Rey?”

Reyna took a deep breath and continued. 

“I took your advice and I talked to him about a few things I knew about him. Then it was going alright until I mentioned that he used to like hot chocolate better than coffee. His head started hurting, I could see it in his eyes then he paused while looking pained. It was like he wasn’t in his body then he came back staring into my eyes and he told me something that he shouldn’t have known. Annie!! Annie, why are you grinning this is not the time for that?”

Annabeth was grinning because she thought that Jason was finally gaining more of his memories. This was good for Jason and hopefully the closure Reyna needed would be here soon. 

“Sorry, Rey. But isn’t this good news, it was a bit slow and it’s been taking too long but he’s regaining his memories?”

Reyna sighs at Annabeth.

“Annie, this is a disaster waiting to happen. He has a girlfriend now.”

Annabeth rolls her eyes.

“More like he has two girlfriends now. He didn’t even know you guys had a thing so technically you guys haven’t broken up.”

“Now is not the time to be a smartass. He already made his choice and I think we should respect that.”

“He doesn’t even know, Rey. You guys have been ignoring each other and now that he wants to talk, you’ve been trying to run away from him. I don’t think this is healthy for the both of you.”

The two girls are startled by an annoyed grunt. They look at its source and find Percy Jackson listening in on the conversation while sitting upright in bed. 

“Oh, hey girls. Your conversation was just too interesting to pass up.”

Annabeth gives Percy a pointed look while Reyna just looks at him exasperatedly. 

“Seaweed brain, I thought I told you to sleep.”

“Hey Perce.”

Percy walks over to them and hugs an annoyed Annabeth from behind. He places his chin on her head.

“Could these be “praetor issues” again?”

Reyna smiles a little because she remembers those times that she talked about “praetor issues” with Percy while Jason was still missing. 

“Yeah, Perce”

“What did he do this time?”

Annabeth looks up at Percy.

“Well, your cousin got some of his memories back last night and now Rey wants to run away.”

Percy looks thoughtful for a moment and looks at the two girls.

“I don’t see the problem there. Let Reyna leave early, Jason made her wait 8 months, I think he can wait a few weeks before they get to talk to each other again. Right, wise girl?”

Annabeth thinks that as much as she was Jason’s friend, she was also Reyna’s. She knew how hard it had been for her. If this girl needed a breather from Jason then so be it. 

“Fine, fine. I agree. But, only because I love Rey and I’ll let her deal with this shit after Gaea.” 

Reyna gives Percy and Annabeth a grateful look. To Percy and Annabeth’s surprise, she hugs them. Reyna wasn’t a hugger but when she did it meant that it was special. 

“What about Nico and Coach Hedge do they already know?”

Reyna smiles up at Annabeth because she always planned things ahead before acting on it. 

“I already have them prepared on deck.”

“Wooah, even Coach Hedge huh?”

Annabeth smiles at how organized Reyna was. It was one of the things she liked about the girl. She looks at her clock and finds that a lot of time had already passed. 

“Well then, let’s see you off. Come on, seaweed brain.”

“Right back at ya, wise girl.”

Annabeth chats with Reyna reminding her of the things that she must do for both camps. She also tells her to stay close to her brother named “Malcolm”, he’ll be able to assist you. Reyna nods at her and hopes that everything goes well. They reach the deck and find Nico, Coach Hedge, and Leo there. Leo was always an early riser because he had to check on the Argo II daily for some maintenance. They say their goodbyes. Before Reyna left Annabeth hugs her tight and whispers. 

“Promise me you’ll sort things out with him when everything is done. You at least deserve the closure.”

Reyna looks her in the eye and nods.

“I promise on the river of styx, I will Annie.”

“Have a safe trip and tell Malcolm I said hi.”

“I will, you guys come back in one piece. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

Percy, Leo and Annabeth watch them leave. Leo breaks the silence between the three of them.

“That’s Ra-ra for you. Always trying to accomplish the quest, the fastest she could. They were supposed to leave at 8 right? It’s practically just 6 in the morning right now.”

Annabeth and Percy share a knowing look and agree to keep the information they knew to themselves. The last thing they wanted was to create an unneccesary love triangle right now. 

Percy wraps one arm around Leo’s shoulder and chats with him. Annabeth stays on the ship’s railing looking out into the sky. She didn’t know how long she was standing there dwelling on her thoughts but she hears someone settle beside her. Annabeth checks her watch it was already 7 in the morning and then she finds Jason looking out into the sky next to her. Jason clears his throat.

“They’re leaving soon right?”

Annabeth guessed that he was talking about Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge. “Time to break it to him” she thought.

“Yeah. They already left though.”

Jason looks at her surprised. There’s also a glint of sorrow and regret in his eyes. 

“What? I thought we all agreed they would leave at 8 in the morning.”

“Reyna asked for the plan to be moved earlier so that she could get a head start.”

Jason looks faraway into the sky.

“Of course, she asked for that.”

Annabeth looks at him. She knew that maybe he just needed a friend right now. 

“What’s the matter? Had something to tell her?”

“Have you ever felt like the life you’re living is all a lie?”

“Mhmm.”

“Have you ever felt so lost, you feel like you can’t find yourself?”

“Mhm.”

Jason looks straight into Annabeth’s eyes. 

“Well, in the past few months I’ve been living that’s what I’ve been feeling. I feel happy with you guys and Piper but there’s a voice in the back of my head telling me to come home. I just feel really lost right now and it’s been frustrating......”

Annabeth holds her breath and waits for him to continue.

“I feel loved, adored and everything is perfect with Piper ..... but I can’t shake the feeling that I had something with Reyna. Whenever I’m around her, it’s like something in my subconscious is telling me to stay close to her.”

Annabeth pats Jason on his shoulder. 

“I know you’re confused right now but maybe you should give Reyna some space. Think about it for a sec. You were ignoring her since you’ve been back and a week ago suddenly you try to be around her all the time. Who wouldn’t be afraid of that?”

Jason sighs. 

“How am I supposed to move on with my life when I don’t even feel completely myself.”

“Only time will tell, Jace. Maybe you should think things through first. Focus on Gaea and then after everything, start sorting yourself out. If we win this war, maybe you can even ask Hera to return the missing pieces of your memories.” 

“You’re right, Annabeth. I guess, I’ll figure it out. Thank you for being a great friend.”

A loud chuckle and warm arms wrap around Annabeth’s waist. Percy kisses her cheek.

“Of course, my wise girl’s great, blonde superman.”

Jason laughs at his cousin. 

“I didn’t even doubt it, Perce.”

Percy looks between the two of them.

“So, what did I miss?”

Annabeth and Jason share a look and smile at Percy.

“It’s a secret, seaweed brain.”

“Sorry, Perce. It’s a secret.”

Annabeth and Jason walk off with Percy following the two closely behind.

“Come on, pleaseeeee.”


End file.
